I find this amazing that he , as a sitting steward for this race, has come out in public with his views. When the BBC crew tried to pressure Mark Blundell into commenting about the decisions of the stewards at Monaco, he was very tight lipped and didn't give an answer. Why is Fittipaldi making statements about a driver before the race even begins.

What do you all think? Should a steward be voicing his opinion on any driver before a race?

Fittipaldi, however, thinks that Senna had more respect for his opposition - and would never have pulled off moves like that which Hamilton did in Monaco.

"Ayrton used to be a very aggressive driver, but I don't remember seeing him doing what Lewis did, not only in Monaco, but if you turn back three years ago, in the Belgium Grand Prix, in Spa," continued Fittipaldi.

"There he did some very critical manoeuvres with [Kimi] Raikkonen. That sort of aggressive overtaking is not a normal thing to do.

I find this amazing that he , as a sitting steward for this race, has come out in public with his views. When the BBC crew tried to pressure Mark Blundell into commenting about the decisions of the stewards at Monaco, he was very tight lipped and didn't give an answer. Why is Fittipaldi making statements about a driver before the race even begins.

What do you all think? Should a steward be voicing his opinion on any driver before a race?

Perhaps the stewards should learn to STFU as much as Hamilton supposedly should.

I'm trying to think of an analogy in other sports where an official (regardless of the longevity of their appointment) makes such comments before carrying out their duties...

Not really fair for a steward to behave in this manner. It's like that Surrinder Thatti...

Fittipaldi is also very wrong:

"Ayrton was also a very aggressive rider," said Fittipaldi. "But I do not remember seeing him doing what Lewis did, not only in Monaco, but if you go back three years ago, I think it was the Belgian GP at Spa, he also made some very critical maneuvers with Raikkonen. You see it's not a normal thing to do that kind of aggressive driving."

Emerson is a joker, Senna was actually vile and rammed people off the race track like Prost, as did Schumacher in his day.

And the Raikkonen Spa move, he didn't even touch him it was Kimi who forced Hamilton off to take exit.

I find this amazing that he , as a sitting steward for this race, has come out in public with his views. When the BBC crew tried to pressure Mark Blundell into commenting about the decisions of the stewards at Monaco, he was very tight lipped and didn't give an answer. Why is Fittipaldi making statements about a driver before the race even begins.

What do you all think? Should a steward be voicing his opinion on any driver before a race?

Good point, they should be neutral and do not talk to media at least until after the race.

I find this amazing that he , as a sitting steward for this race, has come out in public with his views. When the BBC crew tried to pressure Mark Blundell into commenting about the decisions of the stewards at Monaco, he was very tight lipped and didn't give an answer. Why is Fittipaldi making statements about a driver before the race even begins.

What do you all think? Should a steward be voicing his opinion on any driver before a race?

He's right, and is as entitled to his opinion as anyone else is, and he hasn't made any decisions yet, so has not compromised his position as a steward.

We want more passing, they create rules to assist the drivers to be able to pass, and then Lewis is too aggressive for going for the gaps and "racing/passing".
I like Lewis exactly as he is, I hope he keeps doing exactly what he's doing and being the best race car driver on the planet!

I think the thread name should be changed to the professionalism of the stewards in general. We saw Mr. Blundell in Barcelona refusing to talk about their decisions, but they can speak out on their prejudices? Emerson is already unfit to steward if he's going into the race with that mindset.

He's right, and is as entitled to his opinion as anyone else is, and he hasn't made any decisions yet, so has not compromised his position as a steward.

Of course he has compromised his position. In fact he's compromised ALL of the stewards this weekend, as if Hamilton does get a penalty that isn't 100% clear cut, then McLaren and Hamilton can make a very reasonable claim of unfair bias against the stewards. Which is what Hamilton basically said a fortnight ago and got into so much trouble for.

In light of Fittipaldi's comments, I don't think he should be allowed anywhere near the stewards office in any capacity whatsoever.

He's right, and is as entitled to his opinion as anyone else is, and he hasn't made any decisions yet, so has not compromised his position as a steward.

Of course he has compromised his position. In fact he's compromised ALL of the stewards this weekend, as if Hamilton does get a penalty that isn't 100% clear cut, then McLaren and Hamilton can make a very reasonable claim of unfair bias by the stewards. Which is what Hamilton basically said a fortnight ago and got into so much trouble for.

In light of Fittipaldi's comments, I don't think he should be allowed anywhere near the stewards office in any capacity whatsoever.

Of course he has compromised his position. In fact he's compromised ALL of the stewards this weekend, as if Hamilton does get a penalty that isn't 100% clear cut, then McLaren and Hamilton can make a very reasonable claim of unfair bias against the stewards. Which is what Hamilton basically said a fortnight ago and got into so much trouble for.

In light of Fittipaldi's comments, I don't think he should be allowed anywhere near the stewards office in any capacity whatsoever.

Of course he has compromised his position. In fact he's compromised ALL of the stewards this weekend, as if Hamilton does get a penalty that isn't 100% clear cut, then McLaren and Hamilton can make a very reasonable claim of unfair bias by the stewards. Which is what Hamilton basically said a fortnight ago and got into so much trouble for.

In light of Fittipaldi's comments, I don't think he should be allowed anywhere near the stewards office in any capacity whatsoever.

Does seem a bit naive of Emerson to say that on a weekend when he is stewarding.

I find this amazing that he , as a sitting steward for this race, has come out in public with his views. When the BBC crew tried to pressure Mark Blundell into commenting about the decisions of the stewards at Monaco, he was very tight lipped and didn't give an answer. Why is Fittipaldi making statements about a driver before the race even begins.

What do you all think? Should a steward be voicing his opinion on any driver before a race?

Extremely disappointing if true, I look forward to the stewarding decisions.

However, as this weekends steward, it's an ill timed interview from Fittipaldi, there was nothing wrong with Spa '08 in terms of aggression (trying to go around the outside of somebody at a chicane??) and those who raced Senna may have something different to say altogether about his aggression!

What Fittipaldi said sounds like exactly what you want to hear from a steward dealing in racing incidents. If it's not normal racing etiquette and shows no respect for the other drivers then its beyond a racing incident...so it just shows he knows what he is talking about and will do a competent job.

There is nothing indicating that if Senna drove like Hamilton today that he would judge it differently, it was a general statement and not pointed to specific incidents.

Of course he has compromised his position. In fact he's compromised ALL of the stewards this weekend, as if Hamilton does get a penalty that isn't 100% clear cut, then McLaren and Hamilton can make a very reasonable claim of unfair bias by the stewards. Which is what Hamilton basically said a fortnight ago and got into so much trouble for.

In light of Fittipaldi's comments, I don't think he should be allowed anywhere near the stewards office in any capacity whatsoever.

Absolute tosh, the driver stewards are allowed to have an opinion, or are you saying that they shouldn't ? He also said that Lewis is "an outstanding talent" and "spectacular" he drew attention to the fact that Lewis should respect his fellow competitors, you know, the ones he called "a frickin joke" not so long back, and i imagine his views about Lewis's apparent lack of respect are also shared by many.

Lewis doesn't require a reason to claim bias, he's already great at playing the victim, as Martin Brundle touched on when he said "the trouble with Lewis is its always someone els's fault" If Lewis commits more silly errors and gets penalised today i dont doubt for a second that it will all be Emo's fault, cos its never Lewis's, is it.

Its akin to a premiership referre saying 'Man U play dirty', or 'This guy is a diver' before a match...it's just not on. If ex-drivers sign up to be stewards they have to be expected to be impartial, and to be seen to be impartial (and the two are different).

As much I'm a fan of having ex-drivers being stewards, or helping with the decisions, it needs to be on a more professional, than ad-hoc basis.

No people are entitled to their own opinion, but having effectively shared it before the start of a race compromises his ability, from a third party perspective, to judge incidents in an unbiased way. There should not even be a shred of doubt over his impartiality and the fact that he has chosen to come out with it before the race, implies it may be deliberate.

Then there is the abusrdness of his actual comments especially with reference to Spa, but thats something else entirely

Absolute tosh, the driver stewards are allowed to have an opinion, or are you saying that they shouldn't ? He also said that Lewis is "an outstanding talent" and "spectacular" he drew attention to the fact that Lewis should respect his fellow competitors, you know, the ones he called "a frickin joke" not so long back, and i imagine his views about Lewis's apparent lack of respect are also shared by many.

Lewis doesn't require a reason to claim bias, he's already great at playing the victim, as Martin Brundle touched on when he said "the trouble with Lewis is its always someone els's fault" If Lewis commits more silly errors and gets penalised today i dont doubt for a second that it will all be Emo's fault, cos its never Lewis's, is it.

Where did I say stewards aren't entitled to an opinion ?

What faith can you put in a man to act impartially when he's not even got the common sense to keep his opinions to himself (bearing in mind the role he is playing this weekend) ? The answer is very little.

I think either the fine points of the responsibility of a position of steward are lost on certain people or they are letting their bias getting in the way of their common sense. I know which one I'm going for.

I think either the fine points of the responsibility of a position of steward are lost on certain people or they are letting their bias getting in the way of their common sense. I know which one I'm going for.

I think either the fine points of the responsibility of a position of steward are lost on certain people or they are letting their bias getting in the way of their common sense. I know which one I'm going for.

aPerhaps they would like a truly "Unbiased" steward in the room. That would suit certain agendas....